The presidential election of 1936 pitted Alfred Landon, the Republican governor of Kansas, against the incumbent President, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Literary Digest sent out 10 million "straw"; they received back 2.4 million
Straw polls, contrasted with opinion polls, are usually conducted by telephone and based on samples of the voting public
They predicted Alf Landon would win 57% to 43%
As it turned out, Roosevelt won 62% to 37%!